Dino Apostolou is the embodiment of the American Dream.

From meager beginnings in a small Greek village to his current life as a successful restaurateur, Thoroughbred horse owner and trainer at Emerald Downs, Apostolou has made the most out of the opportunities life threw his way.

Already a success at the restaurant business, Apostolou, along with his racing partner, John Logan, this past year posted a breakthrough season at the track, winning eight times in 32 starts.

Getting started

“I came from Greece in 1971,” Apostolou said. “I was born in a small village there and then as a teenager moved to Athens. My older brother came in 1954. He was the first in the family out of 10.”

Apostolou’s brother first settled in Virginia before moving to Seattle in 1962, where he began the process of bringing the rest of the family from Greece.

“He brought my dad here, and in the late ’60s half of the family came,” he said. “The rest of us came in the early ’70s.”

To make ends meet, the family turned to the cuisine of its native land. Apostolou’s first job in America was in his uncle’s restaurant.

“When you come to this country, there is nothing else to do, so you start as a dishwasher,” he said.

Apostolou soon parlayed what he had learned in his uncle’s restaurant into his first place, Dino’s in Rainier Beach.

It was there that Apostolou began his love affair with horse racing, courtesy of several of his clientele, active at the now-defunct Longacres track in Renton.

In 1986 he bought his first horse, Noble Sugar.

“She did very well for me,” he said. “As a matter of fact, I paid just $800 for her.”

Apostolou said it was difficult to get started in the business, but he kept at it.

“It was hard to get in the track in those days,” he said. “You had to have a background and know people. But I managed to get in.”

After Longacres closed in 1992, Apostolou ran a few races at other Northwest tracks before getting out of the business in 1993 to focus his energies on his new restaurant, Santorini’s, which opened in Lake City in 1994.

Partners and friends

John Logan remembers the first time he met Apostolou.

“He owns a restaurant in my neighborhood up in Lake City,” Logan said. “It’s a little pizza and pasta place. I started going there and became a regular customer.”

One day, Logan said, Apostolou approached him and asked what he was doing for lunch.

“I was planning the same old, same old, a little soup a little yogurt at home,” he said.

Instead, Logan went out for lunch with his new friend, and the duo become fast friends.

“This went on for about six months,” Logan said. “At one lunch he brought along Doc Mason (Auburn equine veterinarian Dr. Michael Mason, Emerald Down’s official vet). “Well, they started talking about horses.”

Logan, a transportation engineer and consultant, remembers the meeting.

“So they cast the fly out, see, and now they’re bringing me in,” he said. “So they told me, ‘If you bought a piece of a horse, it would cost this much money.’ And they also told me, very flat out, the chances of making money are slim or nil. So I’m thinking this over and realizing this is a very piss poor opportunity.”

Despite the poor prospects, Logan said, he took Apostolou up on his offer, and in 2006 the pair begin their career at Emerald Downs, with Apostolou as the trainer.

“You have to start from scratch,” Apostolou said. “You have to have a horse. It was hard. In 2006, I won two races out of 41. I only had three horses.”

For the next few years, Apostolou struggled to find that winning formula with his stable, earning just two wins in 44 tries in 2007, one win out of 51 races in 2008, and one win out of 31 races in 2009.

“John was getting a little disappointed,” Apostolou said.

Breakthrough

Logan is no longer disappointed.

At the 2010 meet, Apostolou managed a breakthrough season, training eight winners in 32 starts.

“It was the best season we ever had,” Logan said. “That made him the winningest trainer, percentage wise, for 2010.”

“We had a great year, and we should be back this year,” Apostolou said. “It was a super year.”

Boasting a stable of just five horses, Apostolou and Logan earned a 25-percent win ratio, led by Tom Bombadil’s four victories in 13 starts.

Apostolou credits Logan’s support and the advice of fellow trainer Frank Luccarelli for his successful season.

“There are a lot of great people out here,” Apostolou said. “Frank Luccarelli was one who helped me out buying some horses. He’s a great person. Basically, without John and without Frank, I wouldn’t be here.”

Apostolou said that his decision to concentrate on training older horses with experience running, plus his work ethic, have made the difference.

“(Last year) I had horses that had already been running,” he said. “It’s not my cup of tea to train young horses. It’s takes a long time, and sometimes they’re not running. So I decided to go with cheap horses that are ready to go.

“And I did obsessive training with them, which a lot of people don’t agree with,” Apostolou continued. “I’m here every day and have people lined up to make sure the horse works. And that’s the main thing.”

On the track and in the stable, it’s all business, but for Apostolou, a big part of his enjoyment comes from the time spent with his partner and best friend.

“John is my main supporter,” Apostolou said. “We come down here every morning. It gets him out of the house. I come here in the morning, on the way home I do some shopping and open the restaurant, sit down with friends and have some wine.”

“We’re best friends,” Logan added. “My wife thinks we’re married. My daughter calls him my boyfriend. He’s quiet, I’m quiet. I kid everybody and tell them the only reason I bring him with me down here so that I can use the carpool lane.”

Although some people find it difficult to juggle two things as different as horse racing and owning a restaurant, Apostolou said he enjoys the diversity in his life.

“You get a lot people up there who don’t understand horse racing and a lot of people down here who have no idea about restaurants,” he said. “So it’s a lot of blending for me. But I’ve done lots of things. I sold real estate for a long time. But this (training horses) is my passion.”